Battery loading mechanism for a video camera-recorder

ABSTRACT

A cassette eject mechanism for a recording or reproducing apparatus can remove a cassette eject button from a housing and can reliably eject a tape cassette only when a tape cassette should be loaded or unloaded. A battery loading mechanism for an electronic equipment can make the loading of battery simple and reliable, and becomes easy to handle. The locking mechanism can be simplified in structure so that the number of assembly parts can considerably be reduced. Further, a mechanical chassis supporting mechanism in a recording apparatus is for use with an apparatus in which a mechanical chassis or cabinet can be reduced in thickness. According to this mechanical chassis supporting mechanism, it is possible to prevent an external stress from being applied to the mechanical chassis as a twisting deform force.

This application is a division of application Ser. No. 08/293,919, filedAug. 22, 1994 U.S. Pat. No. 5,539,463.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a cassette eject mechanism of arecording or reproducing apparatus for use with a so-called single unitvideo camera-recorder having a camera function and a recording orreproducing function. Further, the present invention relates to abattery loading mechanism used in such single-unit video camera-recorderor electronic equipment, such as a liquid crystal television receiver orthe like. Furthermore, the present invention relates to a mechanicalchassis (mechanical deck) supporting mechanism for use in a recordingapparatus.

Single-unit video camera-recorders are now commercially available on themarket. The single unit video camera-recorder needs various operationsbuttons provided on the housing to take a picture and various operationswitch buttons to record a video signal or to reproduce a recorded videosignal. Of the above-mentioned operation switch buttons, the single-unitvideo camera-recorder needs cassette eject buttons disposed on thehousing to perform the recording or reproduction.

Since the single-unit video camera-recorder has many operation switchesdisposed on its housing as described above, the user tends to operate awrong operation switch button unintentionally. Therefore, thesingle-unit video camera-recorder has an image that it is not so easyfor the user to handle.

Of the various operation switch buttons, if the user operates thecassette eject button inadvertently, there is then the problem that atape cassette is ejected from the single-unit video camera-recorder tointerrupt the recording or reproducing operation during the recording orreproduction. Therefore, when the single-unit video camera-recorder isused outdoors, from a portability standpoint, the single-unit videocamera-recorder has various mechanical restrictions, such as where todispose a cassette eject button and how to provide a cassette ejectbutton locking mechanism.

Electronic equipments generally include a rechargeable batteryaccommodating mechanism portion provided on a housing thereof. Therechargeable battery accommodating mechanism portion generally comprisesa battery accommodating portion for accommodating a rechargeablebattery, a lid cover supported to the battery accommodating portion soas to become freely openable and closable and a locking mechanism forpositioning the rechargeable battery accommodated in the batteryaccommodating portion.

The battery accommodating mechanism portion, however, encountered withthe problems such that it is difficult to load the rechargeable batteryinto the battery accommodating portion and that the loading of therechargeable battery is hard to understand. Further, since the lockingmechanism for positioning the battery in the battery accommodatingportion is complicated in structure, the number of assembly parts isunavoidably increased. There is then the problem that the assembling ofthe battery mechanism portion is troublesome for the user. Furthermore,since the battery mechanism portion is disposed on the electronicequipment at its very restricted place, the battery mechanism portiontends to be restricted from a plan or design standpoint. Therefore, itis unavoidable that the electronic equipment is deteriorated in outerface.

A recent trend of a recording apparatus is that the recording apparatusis more and more miniaturized and reduced in weight. In accordance withthis trend, a mechanical chassis on which important mechanism portionsof the recording apparatus are mounted or a cabinet forming an outerhousing of the recording apparatus is reduced in thickness in order toreduce the weight thereof.

While the mechanical chassis or the cabinet can be reduced in weightwhen it is reduced in thickness, a rigidity (strength) thereof islowered unavoidably. For this reason, the mechanical chassis or cabinettends to be deformed by an external stress, such as a twisting force orthe like. An important problem caused when the mechanical chassis orcabinet is deformed by the twisting force or the like is that anaccurate tape path cannot be formed on a drum by a very smalldisplacement produced between tape path mechanisms provided on themechanical chassis.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide acassette eject mechanism for a recording or reproducing apparatus inwhich a cassette eject button can be removed from a housing and in whicha cassette eject operation can reliably be carried out only when a tapecassette should be loaded or unloaded.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a rechargeablebattery loading mechanism for an electronic equipment onto which arechargeable battery can be loaded with ease.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a batteryloading mechanism for an electronic equipment which can become easy tohandle.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a batteryloading mechanism in which a locking mechanism can be simplified instructure and in which the number of assembly parts can be reducedconsiderably.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a mechanicalchassis supporting mechanism for a recording apparatus in which anexternal stress can be prevented from being applied to a thin mechanicalchassis or a cabinet as a twisting deformation force.

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provideda cassette eject mechanism for a recording or reproducing apparatuswhich comprises a main body portion having a cassette compartmentdisposed therein, a lid portion supported to the main body portion bymeans of a hinge portion so as to become openable and closable about thehinge portion, a pair of guide arms supported on the lid portion toassist the lid portion to be opened and closed relative to the main bodyportion, wherein a cassette eject switch is operated in a gangedrelation to an opening operation of the lid portion.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provideda battery loading mechanism for an electronic equipment which comprisesa battery accommodating concave portion provided on a housing of theelectronic equipment, a lid portion provided on the housing so as tobecome openable and closable about a hinge portion relative to thebattery accommodating concave portion, and positioning means forpositioning a battery to a loading position of the battery accommodatingconcave portion in a ganged relation to a closing operation of the lidportion.

In accordance with a third aspect of the present invention, there isprovided a mechanical chassis supporting mechanism in a recording orreproducing apparatus which comprises a mechanical chassis having acassette compartment mounted thereon, supporting members respectivelysupported on the mechanical chassis on its drum side and on its oppositeside of the drum side in the rear surface of the mechanical chassis, anouter housing for supporting the mechanical chassis through the twosupporting members, and supporting means in which the supporting memberon the drum side is supported to the mechanical chassis by a one screwin a one-point supporting fashion and the supporting member on theopposite side of the drum side is supported to the mechanical chassis bytwo screws in a two-point fashion.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a single-unit video camera-recorderaccording to a first embodiment of the present invention from the rearsurface thereof;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the single-unit videocamera-recorder according to the first embodiment of the presentinvention from the front surface thereof;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the single-unit video camera-recorderaccording to the embodiment of the present invention under the conditionthat a lid portion thereof is opened;

FIG. 4 is a bottom view of the single-unit video camera-recorderaccording to the first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a side view of the single-unit video camera recorder accordingto the first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a plan view of a cassette eject mechanism used in thesingle-unit video camera-recorder according to the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the operated state of the cassette ejectmechanism of the single-unit video camera-recorder according to thefirst embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a front view of a lid pop-up mechanism according to thepresent invention;

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the single-unit video camera-recorderunder the condition that a lid portion is opened;

FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing a battery mechanism portion with abattery lid portion being opened according to a second embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 11 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of a single-unit videocamera-recorder according to the second embodiment of the presentinvention under the condition that a battery thereof is attached;

FIG. 12 is an exploded perspective view of a mechanical chassissupporting mechanism according to a third embodiment of the presentinvention; and

FIG. 13 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a damper means used inthe third embodiment according to the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

A cassette eject mechanism of a recording or reproducing apparatusaccording to a first embodiment of the present invention will bedescribed with reference to the drawings, in which case the cassetteeject mechanism according to the present invention is applied to asingle-unit video camera-recorder.

FIG. 1 of the accompanying drawings is a perspective view showing anouter face of a single-unit video camera-recorder according to a firstembodiment of the present invention from the rear surface thereof. FIG.2 is a perspective view showing an outer face of the same single-unitvideo camera-recorder from the front surface thereof. FIG. 3 is aperspective view showing the same single-unit video camera-recorder withits lid portion opened. FIG. 4 is a bottom view of the same single-unitvideo camera-recorder. FIG. 5 is a side view of the same single-unitvideo camera-recorder presented when in use. FIG. 6 is a plan viewshowing the cassette eject mechanism used in the single-unit videocamera-recorder according to the present invention.

As illustrated, a single-unit video camera-recorder according to thepresent invention is generally depicted by reference numeral 1.Initially, main portions of the single-unit video camera-recorder 1 willbe described below. As illustrated, a casing or housing of thesingle-unit video camera-recorder 1 comprises a main body portion 2 anda lid portion 3. The lid portion 3 is openably and closably supported tothe main body portion 2 by a hinge portion 4. The lid portion 3 isclosed when levers 5, 5 provided on open end of the other side portionare locked into engagement holes 6, 6 bored through the end portion ofthe main body portion 2. The lid portion 3 can be released from thelocked state by sliding a lid lock releasing slide bar 7 and can beopened.

The lid portion 3 that can be rotated about the hinge portion 4 relativeto the main body portion 2 includes a pair of upper and lower guide arms8, 9 of arcuate configuration rotatable about the hinge portion 4 fixedthereto by screws 3a, 3a. The two guide arms 8, 9 includes guide slots8a, 9a of proper shapes with which guide pins 10 (shown only in FIG. 6)provided on the main body portion 2 side are engaged, thereby assistingthe lid portion 3 to be opened and closed.

As shown in FIG. 2, a lens window 11 of a camera portion is provided onthe upper portion of the front wall of the main body portion 2. A soundcollecting portion 12 is provided near the lens window 11. The main bodyportion 2 includes a camera mode start/stop button 13 provided on theupper one side thereof. A switching lever 14 is provided near thestart/stop button 14 to switch a wide angle mode and a telephoto mode ofthe camera portion. A camera mode and video mode switching operationdial 15 is provided on the upper portion of another one side of the mainbody portion 2. As shown in FIG. 1, a viewfinder 16 is provided on theupper rear surface portion of the main body portion 2.

The main body portion 2 includes a battery accommodating portion 17formed on one side portion of the front wall thereof. The batteryaccommodating portion 17 comprises an accommodating concave portion (notshown) formed on the main body portion 2 and a lid portion 19 supportedopenable and closable to the main body portion 2 by means of a hingeportion 18. The lid portion 19 can be opened by sliding a lock releasingslide button 20.

The lid portion 3 includes on its rear wall formed a liquid crystaldisplay portion 21 which can display a picture to be monitored as shownin FIG. 1. As shown in FIG. 1, the liquid crystal display portion 21 isheld by a frame 22 and the frame 22 includes an openable and closablehood 23 of a foldable type. The user can watch the liquid crystaldisplay portion 21 by spreading the hood 23 as shown in FIG. 5.

The frame 22 is pivotally supported at its upper end portion to the lidportion 3 by means of a hinge metal fitting 24. An angle of the frame 22can be changed by an ancillary arm 25 as shown in FIG. 5. Therefore, thecameraman can take a picture while watching the liquid crystal displayportion 21 under the condition that the liquid crystal display portion21 is set at a desired angle by rotating the frame 22 in adjustment.

The main body portion 2 includes on its bottom wall provided asupporting plate 26 which can electrically connect the single-unit videocamera-recorder 1 to a station (not shown) as shown in FIG. 4. Thesupporting plate 26 is composed of an openable and closable shutter 26aand a terminal block 26bdisposed on the inside of the shutter 26a. Theabove-mentioned station is a connection apparatus that enablesinformation recorded by the single-unit video camera-recorder to berecorded and reproduced by a television receiver or to be dubbed byother VTR.

The main body portion 2 includes a cassette compartment 27 of arecording or reproducing apparatus provided therein. The cassettecompartment 27 is not related to a gist of the present invention andtherefore need not be described herein. The lid portion 3 can be servedas a cassette lid of the cassette compartment 27. The cassettecompartment 27 can eject the tape cassette in a so-called linear skatefashion.

A cassette eject mechanism of the cassette compartment 27 and which isthe gist of the present invention will be described below with referenceto FIGS. 6 and 7. FIG. 7 shows the operated state of the cassette ejectmechanism. Of the pair of guide arms 8, 9 which assist the lid portion 3to open and close, the lower guide arm 9 includes an operation member 28projected on its tip end portion. An eject switch 30 is disposed on thebase plate 29 provided on the main body portion 2 side in response tothe operation member 28. The eject switch 30 is electrically connectedto a motor (not shown) for the eject operation of the cassettecompartment 27.

The guide arm 9 includes an inclined stepped lock portion 31 formed onthe opposite side of the side in which the operation member 28 isprovided. The lock portion 31 faces a spring portion 32 supported to thebase plate 29 and constructs the locking mechanism.

According to the cassette eject mechanism of the present invention, whenthe lid portion 3 is opened, the operation member 28 of the guide arm 9that moves together with the opening of the lid portion 3 pushes theprojected member 30aof the eject switch 30 and switches the eject switch30. Therefore, the eject operation motor (not shown) of the cassettecompartment 27 is driven and the cassette compartment 27 is operated ina linear skating fashion so that the tape cassette can be loaded ontoand/or unloaded from the cassette compartment 27.

At the same time when the eject operation of the cassette compartment 27is carried out by operating the eject switch 30 in synchronism with theclose operation of the lid portion 3, the lock portion 31 of the guidearm 9 comes in engagement with a spring member 32, whereby the lidportion 3 is locked under the condition that it is opened at maximum.Therefore, the lid portion 3 maintains the maximum opened state and thelid portion 3 can be prevented from being closed recklessly so long as alarge closing force is not applied thereto.

The lid portion 3 can be released from the locked state when the lockmember 31 of the guide arm 9 passes the spring member 32 by a force inthe closing direction. Simultaneously, the operation member 28 of theguide arm 9 is released from the projected member 30a of the ejectswitch 30 and the eject switch 30 is disabled so that the cassettecompartment 27 is moved at the loading position in a ganged relation tothe eject switch 30. Thereafter, the levers 5, 5 provided on the openend portion of the lid portion 3 are locked into the engagement holes 6,6 bored through the main body portion 2 side, thereby the lid portion 3being placed in the closed state.

On the other hand, the lid portion 3 includes a lid pop-up mechanismindependently of the cassette eject mechanism.

As shown in FIG. 8, this lid pop-up mechanism is composed of a frame 33supported to the rear surface of the lid portion 3 at the intermediateposition of the levers 5, 5 and a pop-up member 35 held to the lidportion 3 by a spring member 34 in the projected direction.

Specifically, under the condition that the lid portion 3 is in theclosed state, the pop-up member 35 is urged against the end portion ofthe main body portion 2 against the spring force of the spring member34. When the lid portion 3 is released from the locked state byoperating the lid lock releasing slide switch 7, the lid portion 3 canbe popped up under the spring force of the spring member 34 urgedagainst the pop-up member 35.

As another action of the lid pop-up mechanism, it is possible to confirmthat the lid portion 3 is not closed completely because the lid portion3 is popped up by the pop-up member 35 if the lid portion 3 is notreliably locked when the lid portion 3 is being closed.

The lid portion 3 can be rotated about the hinge portion 4 in theopening direction by removing the screws 3a, 3awhich secured the guideframes 8, 9 to the lid portion 3, as shown in FIG. 9. Therefore, it ispossible to repair and inspect the drum head 27a, such as cleaning ofthe drum head 27aor exchange the worn drum head 27a or to repair andinspect the tape path mechanism portion, such as cleaning of the tapeguide system 27a of the tape path mechanism portion and a tape pathadjustment with ease without disassembling the main body portion 2 andthe lid portion 3.

According to the cassette eject mechanism of the present invention,since the eject operation of the cassette compartment 27 is carried outby operating the eject switch 30 in a ganged relation with the openingoperation of the lid portion 3 as described above, it becomesunnecessary to dispose a cassette eject button on the surface of thehousing unlike the prior art. As a consequence, it is possible toreliably prevent the tape cassette from being ejected inadvertentlyduring the single-unit video camera-recorder is being operated.

Since the lid portion 3 is locked under the condition that it is openedat maximum, the lid portion 3 can be prevented from being closed so longas the lid portion 3 is not closed by a recklessly large force.Therefore, the tape cassette can reliably be loaded to and/or unloadedfrom the cassette compartment which is placed under the eject state.

Since the recording or reproducing apparatus includes the lid pop-upmechanism, the lid portion 2 is set in the popped-up state so long asthe lid portion 3 is not closed completely. Therefore, it is possible toprevent the recording or reproducing apparatus from being used under thecondition that the lid portion 3 remains opened.

Further, since the lid portion 3 is rotated about the hinge portion 4 inthe opening direction by a large amount, it is possible to easilyperform the repair and inspection, such as cleaning of the head drum andexchanging of the worn head drum or to perform repair and inspection,such as the tape path adjustment or the like without disassembling themain body portion 2 and the lid portion 3. As a consequence, it becomespossible to reduce the repair processes of the mechanical deckconsiderably.

While the lid pop-up mechanism is disposed on the lid portion 3 side asdescribed above, the present invention is not limited thereto and thelid pop-up mechanism may be disposed on the main body portion 2 side.

While the cassette eject mechanism is applied to the single-unit videocamera-recorder as described above, the present invention is not limitedthereto and may be applied to a variety of recording and reproducingapparatus.

As described above, in the cassette eject mechanism of recording orreproducing apparatus comprising a main body portion in which a cassettecompartment is incorporated and a lid portion supported to the main bodyportion so as to become openable and closable about a hinge portion,since the lid portion includes a pair of guide arms which assist the lidportion to be opened and closed relative to the main body portion inwhich a cassette eject switch is opened in a ganged relation with theopening operation of the lid portion, the cassette eject button need notbe disposed on the surface of the housing of the recording orreproducing apparatus. As a consequence, it becomes possible to reliablyprevent the tape cassette from being ejected during the single-unitvideo camera recorder is being operated.

Furthermore, since the cassette eject button is reduced, it is possibleto make the recording or reproducing apparatus become easy to handle.

A battery loading mechanism that is a main portion of a secondembodiment according to the present invention will be described belowwith reference to FIGS. 10 and 11. In FIGS. 10 and 11, like partscorresponding to those of the first embodiment of the present inventionare marked with the same references and therefore need not be describedin detail.

The battery accommodating concave portion 118 is formed by forming themain body portion 2 in a concave by molding. A pair of electrodeterminals 129, 129 are disposed on the lower portion of the batteryaccommodating concave portion 118. The electrode terminals 129, 129 arecovered with a shutter member 131 which can be elevated and loweredunder the spring force of a spring member (not shown) when the battery130 is not accommodated into the battery accommodating concave portion118. The battery accommodating concave portion 118 includes on itsbottom surface marked an indication mark 132 to indicate the directionin which the battery 130 is accommodated into the battery accommodatingconcave portion 118.

In this embodiment, the battery 130 may be a battery pack-type batteryformed of a lithium battery and therefore the battery 130 includes apair of electrodes 133 provided on side end portions thereof.

The lid cover 120 that is supported to the main body portion 2 by meansof the hinge portion 119 includes at its open end portions provided apair of lock levers 134 (only one lock lever 134 is illustrated in FIG.10) to become slidable by the operation of the lock releasing slideswitch 20 When the lock levers 134, 134 are engaged into lockingapertures 135, 135 bored through the opening portion of the batteryaccommodating concave portion 118, the lock levers 134, 134 are lockedthereto under the condition that the lid cover 120 is in the openedstate.

The lid cover 120 includes on its upper rear surface portion provided apair of parallel ribs 136, 136 as pushing members to move the battery130 to a proper position at which the battery 130 is loaded into thebattery accommodating concave portion 118. The two ribs 136, 136 areformed integrally with a frame 137 provided on the lid cover 120 bymolding. A front surface portion of each of the ribs 136, 136 is formedas an inclined surface 136a of substantially 45°. Furthermore, the ribs136, 136 are formed at the positions distant from the hinge portion 119of the lid cover 120.

Operation of the battery loading mechanism according to the secondembodiment of the present invention will be described with reference toFIG. 11 also.

Initially, the battery 130 is accommodated into the batteryaccommodating concave portion 118 in accordance with the indication mark132, and then the lid cover 120 is closed. When the lid cover 120 isbeing closed, the inclined surfaces 136a, 136a of the ribs 136, 136formed on the rear surface of the lid cover 120 are brought in contactwith an upper corner portion 130a of the battery 130. When the lid cover120 is further rotated in the closing direction under this condition,the battery 130 is lowered toward the electrode terminals 129, 129 bythe inclined surfaces 136a, 136a. The battery 130 is translated in thelower direction, whereby the shutter 131 is lowered against a springforce of a spring member (not shown). Consequently, at the same timewhen the lid cover 120 is closed and locked, the electrode terminals129, 129 are inserted into the electrodes 133, 133 of the battery 130 tomake the battery 130 and the single-unit video camera-recorder becomeelectrically conductive. Then, the loading state of the battery 130 iscompleted.

As described above, according to the battery loading mechanism of thepresent invention, since the battery 130 can be locked at the loadingposition while the battery 130 can be maintained electrically conductiveonly by closing and locking the lid cover 120 under the condition thatthe battery 130 is accommodated within the battery accommodating concaveportion 118, the battery 130 can be loaded reliably with ease.Therefore, the single-unit video camera-recorder becomes easy to handleconsiderably.

According to the present invention, since the battery loading mechanismitself can extremely be simplified in structure, the number of assemblyparts can considerably be reduced with the result that the assemblingcost of the single-unit video camera-recorder can be reduced and thatthe single-unit video camera-recorder can be made inexpensive.

Since the ribs 136, 136 are formed at the positions distant from thehinge portion 119 which becomes a supporting point at which the lidcover 120 is opened and closed, there is then the advantage that apushing force for pushing the battery 130 by the ribs 136, 136 can bereduced when the lid cover 120 is being closed.

Further, since the upper corner portion 130a of the battery 130 isconstantly urged against the inclined surfaces 136a, 136a of the ribs136, 136 of the lid cover 120 when the lid cover 120 is closed andlocked under the condition that the battery 130 is loaded into thebattery accommodating concave portion 118, the battery 130 can beprevented from being loosely fitted into the battery accommodatingconcave portion 118. Thus, the battery 130 can be loaded into thebattery accommodating concave portion 118 stably.

While the two parallel ribs 136, 136 are used as the pushing members asdescribed above, the present invention is not limited thereto and thetwo ribs 136, 136 may be modified as a single thick rib having arelatively large strength. Moreover, other ribs than the pushing membersmay be used so long as they can be formed so as to push the battery 130.

Furthermore, while the battery loading mechanism according to thisembodiment is applied to the single-unit video camera-recorder asdescribed above, the present invention is not limited thereto and may beapplied to a wide variety of battery loading mechanisms of electronicequipments, such as a recording and reproducing apparatus, a liquidcrystal television receiver or the like.

As set out above, the battery loading mechanism of the electronicequipment according to the present invention includes the batteryaccommodating concave portion provided within the housing of theelectronic equipment and the lid portion provided in the housing so asto become openable and closable to the battery accommodating concaveportion about the hinge portion wherein the battery is positioned at theloading position of the battery accommodating concave portion in aganged relation with the closing operation of the lid portion, thebattery loading operation becomes reliable and easy. Thus, the batteryloading mechanism according to the present invention becomes easy tohandle considerably.

Moreover, the battery loading mechanism itself become extremely simplein structure and the number of assembly parts can considerably bereduced. Therefore, the assembling cost can be reduced and the apparatuscan be made inexpensive.

A mechanical chassis supporting mechanism according to a thirdembodiment of the present invention will be described with reference toFIGS. 12 and 13. In FIGS. 12 and 13, elements and parts identical tothose of the first and second embodiments of the present invention aremarked with the same references and therefore need not be described indetail.

As shown in FIG. 12, the mechanical chassis 228 includes frames 229, 230secured to a drum side (not shown) and an opposite side of the drum sideas supporting members in its rear surface (bottom surface) on which thecassette compartment 227 is mounted. The frame 229 on the drum side issecured to the mechanical chassis 228 by means of a single screw 231 andthe frame 230 on the opposite side of the drum side is secured to themechanical chassis 228 by means of two screws 232, 232.

The frame 229 on the drum side is supported to the mechanical chassis228 through a damper means 233 serving as a stress absorption memberprovided independently of the screw 231. The damper means 233 will bedescribed below with reference to FIG. 13. As shown in FIG. 13, thedamper means 233 is formed of a silicon damper rubber 234. The silicondamper rubber 234 is fitted into and supported in a hole 229a boredthrough the frame 229. The damper rubber 234 is fixed at its center tothe mechanical chassis 228 by way of a stepped screw 235. Thus, theframe 229 is supported to the mechanical chassis 228 via the damperrubber 234.

Referring back to FIG. 12, the frame 229 on the drum side includes asupporting member 236 having a resilient structure 236a distant from thefixed position of the screw 231 in the front and back direction but itis substantially coaxial therewith. The frame 230 on the opposite sideof the drum side includes supporting portions 237, 237 near thepositions at which the frame 230 is fixed to the mechanical chassis 228by the two screws 232, 232.

Although the mechanical chassis 228 is secured to the main body portion2 via the frames 229, 230, a printed circuit board shown by a phantomtwo-dot chain line 238 in FIG. 12 is secured to the rear surface of themechanical chassis 228. A boss 222a formed on the main body portion 2 issecured to the supporting portion 236 of the frame 229 of the drum sideby a screw 239. Bosses 222b, 222b formed on the main body portion 2 arerespectively secured to the supporting portions 237, 237 of the frame230 of the opposite side of the drum side by means of screws 240, 240.

According to the thus arranged mechanical chassis supporting mechanismof the present invention, since the frame 229 of the drum side issupported to the mechanical chassis 228 by the screw 231 in a one-pointsupporting fashion and the main body portion 2 is supported to thesupporting portion 236 of the frame 229 by the screw 239 in a one-pointsupporting fashion, even when an external stress, such as a twistingforce or the like is applied to the frame 229 from the main body portion2 or the lid portion 3, not shown, the frame 229 is swingably movedabout the supporting point 236 at which the main body portion 2 or thelid portion 3 is supported in a one-point supporting fashion. Therefore,the external stress based on the twisting force can be prevented frombeing applied to the mechanical chassis 228 portion of the drum side. Asa result, a very small displacement can be prevented from being producedbetween the tape path mechanisms formed on the mechanical chassis 228 sothat the tape path can be produced accurately relative to the drum.

Since the frame 229 on the drum side is fixed to the mechanical chassis228 by means of the damper means 233 provided independently of the screw231, the frame 229 is stably supported to the mechanical chassis 228 andthe external stress, such as the twisting force or the like applied tothe frame 229 can be absorbed by the damper means 233. Thus, theexternal stress can be prevented from being transmitted to themechanical chassis 228.

Further, since the frame 229 includes the screw 231 secured to themechanical chassis 28 and the supporting portion 236 for supporting themain body portion 2 and the screw 231 and the supporting portion 236 aredisposed substantially coaxially, even when the frame 229 is appliedwith the external stress, such as the twisting force or the like fromthe main body portion 2, the frame 229 can swingably be movedeffectively.

Furthermore, since the supporting portion 236 that supports the mainbody portion 2 in a one-point supporting fashion is formed as theresilient structure 236a, the external stress applied to the frame 229from the main body portion 2 can be absorbed by the resilient structure236a to some extent and the swing operation of the frame 229 can besuppressed to the minimum.

While the mechanical chassis supporting mechanism according to the thirdembodiment of the present invention is applied to the single-unit videocamera-recorder by way of example, the mechanical chassis supportingmechanism of the present invention is not limited thereto and can beapplied to a wide variety of recording and/or reproducing apparatus andreproducing apparatus.

As set out above, since the mechanical chassis supporting mechanism fora recording apparatus according to the present invention comprises themechanical chassis on which the cassette compartment is mounted, thesupporting members respectively supported to the drum side and theopposite side of the drum side of the mechanical chassis and the outerhousing for supporting the mechanical chassis by means of the twosupporting members, the supporting member on the drum side is supportedto the mechanical chassis by one screw member in a one-point supportingfashion and the supporting member on the opposite side of the drum sideis supported to the mechanical chassis by the two screws in a two-pointsupporting fashion. Therefore, the external stress, such as the twistingforce or the like can be prevented from being transmitted to themechanical chassis on the drum side and the very small displacement canbe prevented from being produced between the tape path mechanisms andthe accurate tape path can be produced on the drum. Therefore, themechanical chassis supporting mechanism according to the presentinvention is suitable for the recording apparatus whose mechanicalchassis or outer housing can be reduced in thickness in order to beminiaturized and made light in weight.

Having described preferred embodiments of the invention with referenceto the accompanying drawings, it is to be understood that the inventionis not limited to those precise embodiments and that various changes andmodifications could be effected therein by one skilled in the artwithout departing from the spirit or scope of the invention as definedin the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A battery loading mechanism for loading a batteryhaving a plurality of battery electrodes in an electronic equipmentcomprising:a battery accommodating concave portion provided on a housingof said electronic equipment, said battery accommodating concave Portionincluding a plurality of electrode terminals on a lower portion thereof;a lid portion provided on said housing so as to become openable andclosable about a hinge portion relative to said battery accommodatingconcave portion; positioning means for positioning a battery to aloading position of said battery accommodating concave portion in aganged relation to a closing operation of said lid portion; said lidportion including at an upper part thereof a pushing member formed of arib having an inclined surface for urging said battery into the loadingposition of said battery accommodating concave portion such that as saidlid portion is closed, said inclined surface of said pushing member isbrought into contact with an upper corner portion of the battery so thatthe battery is lowered in said battery accommodating concave portion toinsert the plurality of battery electrodes in the electrode terminals ofthe battery accommodating concave portion.
 2. A battery loadingmechanism for an electronic equipment according to claim 1, wherein saidpushing member is disposed at the position distant from a supportingpoint at which said lid portion of said battery is rotated.